Kenneth Ma: “I Am Not Like Raymond Lam!”

TVB series, Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄> and The Four<少年四大名捕> made Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Raymond Lam (林峯), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) and Ron Ng (吳卓羲) who were then newcomers more prominent. Unlike his costars who have already filmed Chinese dramas and released music albums, Kenneth has only tasted success in recent years.

Although his colleagues are many steps ahead of him, Kenneth counts himself lucky already. “Most of the students from the same acting class have left the industry. There is only one or two still waiting for an opportunity. How can I say that I am not lucky? I only acted in cameo roles in the first three years of entering the industry. After that, I was able to film Triumph in the Skies. My mentality is like a ‘half a cup of water.’ Isn’t it good enough that I still have half a cup of water?”

Kenneth Does Not Compare to Raymond Lam

Regarding Raymond Lam, who has carved out his singing and filming career, Kenneth said, “I never thought of competing and comparing with anyone. If I have to be jealous, I may as well be jealous of the English soccer players! They can play soccer while earning a million bucks!”

Kenneth further added, “Am I envious of Raymond? Depends on how you see it. Raymond likes singing, but I do not like to be a singer. Everyone says Raymond is being heavily promoted because of his social skills. I am not good at socializing. Everyone has a different path. If you want me to entertain you, I’ll rather die!”

Speaking about his costar in Three Kingdoms RPG <回到三国>, Kenneth said, “Raymond is indeed heavily promoted. The company sees something he possesses which I do not have. So we can’t say that the company is bias.”

Kenneth Ma Wishes to Film Chinese Dramas

As Kenneth is busy filming TVB dramas, the company has rejected three to four mainland Chinese dramas for him. Revealing that he also wished to earn more income in China, Kenneth said, “Who does not wish to film Chinese dramas and make more money? It’s useless to compete in the company. To be frank, if the company has more actors, you are able to head to China to earn the extra money. Who will want to stay in the company’s studio to film for 365 days? ”

Kenneth Prefers Cash Over Awards

Kenneth won the Most Improved Actor award at the 2006 TVB Anniversary Awards. Candidly stating that her prefers monetary rewards instead, Kenneth said, “I would rather have cash. The award is only meant as an encouragement. Do you swallow the trophy when you are hungry? The basic living has to be maintained, if not we can’t talk about any ambitions!”

When asked if winning the favors of management executives will help in winning the awards, Kenneth replied, “To be frank, everyone has their favourite artist. There is a saying which makes sense, ‘It’s not how much capability you have, but how much capability your boss thinks you have.’ My relationships with my superiors are okay, but it is definitely not the best compared to others.”

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Readers' Comments (86)

Is this news translated from the Oriental one? If that, where is the part MM said he isn’t friend of LF, Bosco and Ron? It shows that MM isn’t friend of guys :P.

Kenneth further added, “Am I envious of Raymond? Depends on how you see it. Raymond likes singing, but I do not like to be a singer. Everyone says Raymond is being heavily promoted because of his social skills. I am not good at socializing. Everyone has a different path. If you want me to entertain you, I’ll rather die!”

Well, this part, if I view from his words, I would say that he is envying. The Chinese words are even more bitter. I don’t like the tone of voice he used (if it’s really his word and not being twisted by reporters) when he say about “social”. If it isn’t social, how can he has the leading roles? Talking about hardworking, he really thinks that LF is lazier than him? Talking about singing, does he has the talent to sing? I lurked some clips on youtube to see how he sings and surprisingly, I feel that Moses and Ron are not the worst Txb “singers”. What is the social he is trying to say? Saying that his colleague is using “social” when he is not is just a way of stepping on others to make himself better. And it isn’t a good way to comment on others, especially when he is wanting to establish an image of a good guy.

Funn,
Kenneth may be too modest. His communication skills have already improved remarkably since he entered the industry 12 years time. He’s eloquent, composed, and retains a sense of humor in written and televised interviews.

His own assessment is probably on-target, that his relations with his superiors are okay, but there are others who are always better.

He doesn’t come across as trying too hard to promote himself, but does what is necessary to accelerate his own career. I sense he is marketing himself more this year versus past years. It’s likely a combination of increased TVB push, viewer demand, and also Kenneth’s own willingness and comfort to be in the limelight.

Social also can have negative mean.
Saying that he dun have social skill is like saying that everything he has isn’t from the connections while the other have to depend on the connections to go up. Since the connections take account in, tell me that it is positive from this aspect of opinion. It also can lead to the thinking that he is downgrade others to make himself higher as it also means MM is trying to say he is hardworking while others – who use social – are not. His tone of voice also make a part: Everyone says LF uses “social” to be promoted.

He says that depends on how ppl view and it’s one of the view. Checking weibo replies and you will see that there isn’t only one me who have the same view. Done.

I say it isn’t good for MM to compare when he isn’t asked to compare because his words can bite him. He is trying to establish the image of diamond bachelor, isn’t he? Better to say about himself only and try not to compare anything or saying: I’m good, he is good, she is good, everybody is good. Boring, but safe.

i thinks that kenneth may have something against LF because it’s not the first time of him comparing himself weith LF and indiresctly hinting bad things about LF and i don’t like that. i hate it when people say harsh comments in this manner.

I think Fox just has fun thinking there is a “darker side” to Kenneth. Maybe just going against the common perception that Kenneth is a “good man,” similar to questioning his motive of why he admitted Nancy Wu was his ex-girlfriend.

I always question why he has to link Nancy in everything and reveal the loves from all of the sudden. For example, the new second love ex he had. Well, before he also said that he was dry, he dun have gf, but suddenly revealed he had 3 times in love, 2 ex in the industry. A liar if viewing from the aspects of some ppl said before, lolz. And if they broke up in peace and nobody know, as well as she has a new bf, why bother to mention about her without naming? Wanna a witch hunt season again?

And I don’t think anyone in the industry is genuinely naive or always say the truth, lolz. Finding the troubles from their words are so entertaining.

Overall, MM is kinda smart to say good thing and have some small reveals which are good for himself. It shows that he has social skill, not like he said. However, this time he is kind of careless. These comparisons are not good for his diamond bachelor image.

Well, I’m with funn, I think fox read into it too much lol. I find the way he answered/say those stuffs is quite clear and nice. He doesn’t make himself look bad nor bad mouth other. And about the gf, I guess if article was any true, nancy probably still hold out hope, however, Kenneth probably don’t want to stretch that relationship any further, so why ruin the girl’s chance of getting a new bf. and you could say its a bit mean to tell the world, I don’t want you, but I do believe in bitter medicine and clean cut than sweet medicine and being not clean cut, if you know what I mean.
I feel Kenneth is a steady horde, maybe he will the race, you never know, but so far, I like this interview, show he’s a bit mellow xD but that could be me

I said many times that Nancy never said that she is still having hope on MM :). Only some tabloids said these things WITHOUT mentioning any word from Nancy.

She even said that she doesn’t want to make free promotion for others – you know what she is meaning in here. Saying this by her, do you think that she wants to be with him again? The bitter medicine doesn’t work for her in this case.

Agreed, although I don’t really mind that they’re trying to create this fake rivalry? lol

They do it with the 5 fadans all the time, and they get it much worse since they’re female so they make it so that they’re all catty. It’s tiring so I’d much rather hear about the guys (fake) fighting for awards.

Kenneth sounds sound like he is trying too hard to sound perfect. He sounds very mature and understanding which is something that comes with age and he is pretty older than most siu sangs. I believe this is him being him and it is so hot. Wish more men can be like him.

Wow, the headline. Those words coupled with the exclamation mark made me think Kenneth was trying to dissociate himself from LF’s “playboy” ways at first.

I like Kenneth’s words; not being offensive, but not trying to sugar coat everything either. I’m not a fan of false modesty nor people who use the words “I’m just an honest person” as an excuse for being downright rude.

I actually Find the respond a bit kinda rude especially the part “Everyone says Raymond is being heavily promoted because of his social skills. I am not good at socializing.” it kind seem like he is saying Raymond doesn’t have the abilities to get the main role without having connection, well him he can get it without having connection. Plus of course he doesn’t have a interest in singing cause is pretty bad.

Kenneth’s point was that he does not envy others for what they have. He is comfortable in his own skin. Socializing is not his forte and he is OK with it. If other people have that talent, then good for them. He also does not like to sing. Hence, there’s no point of being envious of other singers.

I think the responses were forthright. I think his focus is to achieve his best without trying to be better than others.

Perhaps we’re over analysing?
1. Yes, it could be a slight dig at LF. We’ll never know.
2. Or he’s simply being straightforward about the matter. Connections and social network can be pretty useful/vital in the entertainment industry, and it’s a skill that most have to learn in order to survive. Unless you’re SUPER talented (or struck it lucky with the audience), but even then, that doesn’t always guarantee success.

Haha, no. When you compare Kenneth to his contemporaries, he took a MUCH longer time to get where he is today. Maybe he’s slowly learning the ropes in “playing the game” or he was just lucky that The Hippocratic Crush came along. The audience seemed to love him there, so of course TVB would try to cash in as much as possible and ride the popularity.

Anyway, I don’t really think Kenneth’s trying to compete with anyone here, especially as he and LF seem to have different aims anyway. If there’s any hint of resentment, it would probably be aimed at TVB for putting a stranglehold on him and not letting him venture into a bigger market.

Or a lot of these “actors” are good at acting in real life, but not so good in front of the camera…

Kenneth is a forthright person and says his mind without malice towards anyone. Perhaps he should not have brought up a name to compare himself with and thus causing people to think he is envious of him, in this case, Raymond. On top of that he also said that Raymond was “heavily promoted” thus showing that it was not fair to him (Kenneth). Other than that I like Kenneth and hope he realizes his achievements.

I think kenneth was just telling the truth, he meant no offense to LF and his fans. Kenneth has always give me a feeling that he’s straightforward with his intention and never a backstab person at all.

Lolz, rumour or tabloids to say that he was the one who backstabbed Sammul Chan in the past.

The screnario is like this: Sammul Chan revealed that among the 6 Olympic stars (LF, Ron, Bosco, Sammul, MM, Lai Lok Yi) there was one person who badmouthed Sammul Chan to the executives to kick ass Sammul out of Txb and to be promoted. This person wasn’t promoted before that and after Sammul’s leave, he finally got the promotion. At the moment of this article, LF, Ron were heavily promoted. Bosco and MM started to be promoted and Lai Lok Yi was just like now – no promotion. So most of the doubts came to Bosco and MM. There were a tabloid to say that Sammul finally revealed this person was MM.

But you can choose to blv it, or not :P. Watever, it’s just a tabloid.

I don’t think Kenneth is that type, but then again… who really knows?? HOnestly, even IF he was, I don’t think it would be wise of Sammul to reveal that it was him. Therefore, I find that hard to believe… Regardless of who it is, the artists usually would NOT reveal who backstabbed them or whatever because it would be bad for their reputation as well… I highly doubt Sammul would say such a thing. IT is true that tabloids can write whatever, but we can choose to believe what we like. But if it is a bit too ridiculous then you really wonder if it is the truth or not since they are famous for adding more pepper and salt in as well as making some things up??

Personally, I am on Team Kenneth and appreciate all the news on him although I cannot comment on all of them…since it would just be “I love you Kenneth!!! I am single!!” That would get tedious after a while…

I think that he is the type of man that would offer “no comment” if he does not have anything positive to say about a topic rather than badmouth anyone or make a backhanded comment.

Yeah, there’s something about his reply that I don’t really like especially how i think he’s trying hard to subtly imply something but without making him seem like an envious ******.

I don’t believe that he doesn’t want to be a singer(i mean, if you can sing and was offered to sing.. i’m sure anyone would want to and plus, he said he wants to make money and singers earn heaps) so it’s like a non-embarrassed way to explain why he isn’t a singer.

Saying Raymond is heavily promoted due to his “social skills” and saying he doesn’t have any makes me think that he is subtly implying that Raymond sucks up to executives through sweet talking and all those crap. He keeps repeating how Raymond is heavily promoted. But really, is he Look who is invited to star in grand TVB productions.

LOL I think KM does envy LF too but KM’s reply is good already and sounds truthful and innocent. He’s the most humble guy TVB has now.

LF need to be extra eye catching to win the BA award this year. Lots of other stars are hinking KM is the popular choice. Bosco and Linda straight out said they think KM and THC are the hit without second thoghs.

When asked if winning the favors of management executives will help in winning the awards, Kenneth replied, “To be frank, everyone has their favourite artist. There is a saying which makes sense, ‘It’s not how much capability you have, but how much capability your boss thinks you have.’ My relationships with my superiors are okay, but it is definitely not the best compared to others.”

This part is also lacked a half of the whole answer (moved to another part), also mentioned of LF in another comparison.

He is not being bitter. He is stating a fact. LF survived his scandals with TVB’s full back up. Any less artiste would have been suspended or told to take unofficial time off. I didn’t think Kenneth sounded bitter or happy. There is such a word in English called candid and he was being just that, candid.

And no denying Raymond is well connected. So what if he used some of his connection or others used it for him in his early career? The point is he made it. That was what Kenneth meant isn’t it? Social skills has no negative connotation here. It simply means Raymond has better people skill, He has less though I agree. I think Raymond has poor people skills when in scandalous time. Kenneth so far is untested so I can’t say much. Kevin has good people skill during scandals. The way he answers makes me believe him. It is a matter of perception. No one is perfect; they’re all actors, they are good at hiding imperfections and maybe good at pretending to have imperfection to give a view of perfection. It is a matter of image. I think Kenneth was merely being candid and he chose a good example to comment on. I think he is on point about Raymond Lam and I feel he means no malice.

1. The backup of Txb during the scandal of LF partly thank to his fanbase dun decrease this time. Showed by the number of the sale of the album and the concert, therefore Txb can confirm that he won’t die because of this scandal. Viewing from 3K, can see that Txb had the hold on LF to put him supporting – because at the moment of filming, they don’t know that he can pass the scandal or not. So if having anyone LF should say thank to help him to get out of the scandal, it’s his fans who continue to buy his stuffs. Without them, even Txb can’t do anything.

Do you see Him, Ron and Bosco are off after the scandal? Getting someone off after a scandal isn’t TVB’s type. They only let them down slowly and promote others instead of the scandalous ppl.

2. He has connections, yup, but it doesn’t mean others dun have. The world “social” in here can be explained by negative meaning which I stated above.

3. You can think that MM means “people skill”, your opinion. But in my opinion, he means of “connection”. He is trying to say that he doesn’t have any connection or don’t have to polish anyone to get to his current position. But from his tone of voice, in my opinion, he seems to be envious that his position is lower than LF and he blamed this matter to “connection” and “social”. THat’s why he sounds bitter.

4. Nobody ask MM to compare himself with LF in the last part. The question given to him was: “winning the favors of management executives will help in winning the awards”. He himself made the comparisons. Ok, it might be the trap of the reporters, but MM felt into it. It’s his matter.

5. Correct that all of them are actors and they are trying to subtly imply something about others. But to someone who is trying very hard to establish goodie image like MM, these comparison isn’t a smart move he is having. Of course, it won’t harm him much.

Malice or not, I don’t wonder for it. But I can see that MM likes to imply something in all of his interviews.

i agree with funn. ma ming is simple. i don’t see any bitter part from him towards raymond. fox you might be too sensitive. and also it’s common sense that raymond is promoted a lot more than ma ming and others. if ma ming sounds envious it’s not surprising but i don’t see bitter. ma ming did the interview fine.

I never once said you think too much. You can check all my comments under this news and see whether I said such or not. You keep saying ‘his tone’. In order to know his tone, one have to listen to the tone. So, I assume you have watch the interview and heard the tone.

“Lolz, it’s my point of view and didn’t I say so at least twice? So you are arguing with how I view from his wordings. I think too much or not? It’s how I view”

I’m not arguing with how you view from his words. Doesn’t matter that you say 100x that it’s you POV that he’s bitter. If you say ‘his tone’, it means you have heard this tone and I sincerely want to hear his tone. So, I ask for the interview clip.

I think KM is a funny man. TVB girls all love him. LOL yesterday I saw in an article Myolie admit that KM always seem to try his luck on her but she know he’s all talk and no action and just joking LOL. That phrase always said by all TVB girls for KM.

Okay so idk why but i wrote a posted a paragraph but it says it needed to be reviewed before being made public and now it’s deleted.

Anyways like what i mentioned in my “deleted post”… I don’t like Kenneth’s way of answering as I feel that he is trying to imply something but without making himself sound envious. Him saying that LF has “social skills” just makes me think that Kenneth is subtly implying that LF is good at sucking up to executives by sweet talking and all that crap for more promotion. But does LF really have that much promotion? Seems like Kenneth was featured in more grand production dramas than LF and Kenneth has two upcoming ones.. Raymond probably just seems to be everywhere because he’s focused on film, drama and music but to say he’s over-promoted? Hmn.

Maybe KM also envy LF got to choose his script starting HAL and can take free time to make albums, movies and mainland dramas while KM although got grand productions and 1000 different types of roles is stuck with small money inside TVB. I think KM is sincere when he said he wanted to make money. He’s uptight about money so money must be something valuable to him and it’s understandable. LOL I don’t think KM think ill of LF promotion. They seem to get along well in all 3K promos

During our lifetime, it’s very hard not to make comparisons to other people. I’m sure everyone here has thought about how they match up to their friends in terms of grades, professions, houses, salaries, etc. In the entertainment circle, the comparisons are probably even more prominent with the media attempting to create buzz amongst artists. However, I’m certain that at the end of the day many artists can’t help but think to themselves how they size up to certain colleagues. This is a fact inside and outside the entertainment circle for artists and for us ordinary folks which sometimes can be depressing, depending on how you view it. Some take it more seriously and some lightly but like the old cantonese saying goes, “Yun bay yun, bay say yun”, which means if people compare themselves to others, there simply is no end until the point of death.